Central Plains Bancshares, Inc. Stock Compensation Disclosure

Note 17 - Stock based compensation

ESOP

Employees participate in an ESOP. The ESOP borrowed funds from the Company to purchase 330,465 shares of stock at $10 per share. The Association makes discretionary contributions to the ESOP and the ESOP uses funds it receives to repay the loan. When loan payments are made, ESOP shares are allocated to participants based on relative compensation. Participants receive the shares at the end of employment.

Each December, the Association makes discretionary contributions to the ESOP, which are equal to principal and interest payments required on the term loan. In December 2024, the Association made a discretionary contribution of $303,000 to the Company for payment on the loan. The ESOP compensation expense for the year ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $167,000 and $161,000, respectively.

Equity Incentive Plan

At the Company's annual meeting of stockholders held on November 26, 2024, stockholders approved the Central Plains Bancshares, Inc. 2024 Equity Incentive Plan (“2024 Equity Plan”), which provides for the granting of up to 578,313 shares (165,232

shares of restricted stock and 413,081 stock options) of the Company’s common stock pursuant to equity awards made under the 2024 Equity Plan.

Stock options granted under the 2024 Equity Plan generally vest in equal annual installments over a service period of five years beginning one year from the date of grant. The vesting of the options accelerates upon death, disability or an involuntary termination at or following a change in control of the Company. Stock options are generally granted at an exercise price equal to the fair value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date based on the closing market price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, and have an expiration period of ten years. On November 27, 2024, the Company granted 123,924 stock options and on January 10, 2025, the Company granted 185,000 stock options under the 2024 Equity Plan. As of March 31, 2025, the Company has 104,157 stock options available for future grants under the 2024 Equity Plan.

The fair value of stock options granted is estimated utilizing the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the following assumptions:

Due to the limited historical information of the Company’s stock, management considered the weighted historical volatility of the common stock of the Company and other similar entities for an appropriate period in determining the volatility rate used in the estimation of fair value. The expected life of the stock option was estimated using the simplified method. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The Company recognizes compensation expense for the fair values of these awards, which have graded vesting, on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the awards. The weighted average grant date fair value of stock options granted during the year ended March 31, 2025 was $5.61.

The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents the total pre-tax intrinsic value, the difference between the Company's closing stock price on the last trading day of the period and the exercise price, multiplied by the number of in-the-money options.

Expected future expense relating to the non-vested options outstanding as of March 31, 2025 is $1.6 million over a weighted average period of 4.7 years.

Restricted shares granted under the 2024 Equity Plan generally vest in equal annual installments over a service period of five years beginning one year from the date of grant. The vesting of the awards accelerates upon death, disability or an involuntary termination at or following a change in control of the Company. The product of the number of shares granted and the grant date closing market price of the Company’s common stock determines the fair value of restricted shares under the 2024 Equity Plan. Management recognizes compensation expense for the fair value of restricted shares on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.

On November 27, 2024, the Company granted 49,566 shares of restricted stock and on January 10, 2025, the Company granted 79,500 shares of restricted stock with a total grant-date fair value of $1.9 million. These restricted stock awards vest in equal installments

over a five-year period beginning one year from the date of grant. As of March 31, 2025, the Company has 36,167 shares of restricted stock available for future grants under the 2024 Equity Plan.

Expected future expense relating to the non-vested restricted shares outstanding as of March 31, 2025, is $1.8 million over a weighted average period of 4.7 years.